Betrayal Of A Memory
by Chikicha
Summary: At the age of five Kira and her mother had made a promise to eachother that they'd be together forever. But when a tragedy happens and that promise is broken, Team Rocket gets involved. Kira grows older, and her memories fade. Now she must find the truth.
1. Prologue

_**Prologue**_

_She sat on the couch, staring intently at the object she held in her hands. A video, just a videotape. But then why did it make her feel like the shadows were trying to swallow her up, trying to fill her up with loneliness? Was it the fact that the videotape was cold to the touch? Or perhaps it was the name of the video. **Memories.** The name. Of course._

A little girl no older than five continued to just lie there, gazing at the dimly-lit bright pink ceiling of her room. Wrapped tightly around her were layers of thick wool blankets with bright dancing colors. Hands tightly grasping the edge of the blankets, the girl sank even deeper into their warmth as a small shiver ran up her spine. Her sparkling sapphire-blue eyes scanned the walls of her room, staring intently at the wallpaper that had been carefully placed upon them. On this wallpaper majestic Ponytas of all colors danced through the skies, seeming to chase the flickering shadows away. The girl's eyes then finally reached the sight of something small and golden sitting on the desk by her bed, glittering in the light of her lamp. She reached out a small hand and grasped the golden object, then quickly pulled it towards her. It was a small heart-shaped locket, made out of real gold. It was attached to a small golden chain. But that was not what the girl was looking at. No, she was gazing at the cursive letters carefully engraved into the thick gold. Only two words were engraved, but they meant more than a thousand words to the girl. For not only were they engraved into the locket, but also into her heart, where they would remain forever. Engraved on the locket were the words:

**Together  
Forever**

Her hands trembling, the girl took a hold of a small golden key that was attached to the locket. With a small click the locket opened, revealing a tiny photograph pushed into the left door of the locket. At the sight of the photo, the girl smiled softly. Those same sapphire-blue eyes were gazing back at her, twinkling with glee. There she was in the photograph, her bright blonde hair as curly as ever, shining in the sunlight. In her arms she held a young female Eevee. Turning her head to the right, she saw the same figure curled up into a tight ball on top of the covers of her bed. The girl yearned to reach out a hand and stroke the Eevee's soft and silky fur, but she knew she shouldn't touch the pokemon while it was sleeping. Instead she turned her head again to continue gazing at the locket she held in her hand. There was a third figure in the photo, her arm tightly wrapped around the girl. It was her mother.

_Her legs shaky, she slowly walked towards the TV screen, towards the video player. Were the small thumps she was hearing the sound of her footsteps, or the beating of her frantic heart, getting faster as the seconds ticked by?_

Her mother. Her dirty-blonde hair lay limp at her shoulders, her hazel eyes twinkling with the same gleefulness as the girl's. That was the person she was waiting for. The one who was making her wait with nothing to do but watch the shadows dance on the walls. But she didn't care. She loved her mother. There they were, the three of them, laughing happily in the gleaming sunlight. It had been only a year ago when that photo was taken. It had only been a year ago when she remembered franticly tearing the wrapping paper apart to reveal the present of her dreams with her mother's single promise engraved into its surface. _Together Forever._ That had been what her mother promised her. That both of them would be together forever, with nothing between them. And that was all the girl had wanted too.

_The short walk to the video player seemed to go on for miles as she continued on, ignoring the thudding in her chest. When she finally got there she just stood there, gazing at the small green dimly-lit numbers on the video player. 1:26. She turned her head to look out the window one last time before she put the video in. Stars twinkled in the night sky, and the full moon continued to shine its fragile moonlight through the window, down at the trembling girl. She now had to put the video in._

At the sound of a long creak, the girl's head quickly turned to the left. The same figure in the photo whose arm was wrapped tightly around her was standing in the doorway, gazing softly at the girl, a small smile etched on her kind face. At the sound of the door, the Eevee's eyes had flashed open. She carefully jumped off the bed and landed on the ground with a small thud, then hurried over the girl's mother.

_Hands trembling, she took a hold of the video and slowly slid it into the video player. The small green numbers flashed, and then rapidly started changing form. At first the only thing on the TV screen was white static, static that was swarming in her mind, making her feel dizzy. But then it came to life. Millions of colors danced on the screen as her eyes grew wider. She slowly stood up, continuing to carefully watch the TV screen. As if mesmerized by it, she slowly stepped backwards then sank into the warmth of the couch once again. The video. Of course._

"Sorry I'm so late, Kira." Her mother whispered softly, bending down to pick up the Eevee. "I had to do something important right away."

"What type of important thing, mommy?" Kira asked, gazing up into her mother's tired eyes.

She sighed. "Business things, honey. That's all. Just business things." She carefully set the Eevee down in her lap and started softly stroking its fur.

"Oh." Kira simply replied. But she knew that when her mother repeated things, something was wrong.

_She continued carefully watching the TV screen, letting the shadows swallow her up. But she was not filled with an empty loneliness. No, of course she wasn't. She continued to reach out a hand to grab some popcorn, only to just then realize that she was grabbing air._

Her mother's eyes then wandered over the tiny golden locket dangling on Kira's neck. "Kira, you know you shouldn't wear that to bed. You could choke in your sleep." And with this her mother carefully took a hold of the open locket and lifted it up over Kira's head. She paused for a moment to gaze at the tiny photograph. At the sight of the three of them, she smiled softly. Then she closed the locket back up with a small click and set it down on the desk. "Its time to go night-night now, honey." She whispered.

Kira nodded. "I know." She said. "But before I do, I need to promise you something."

Her mother sighed impatiently. Kira gazed worriedly up into her hazel eyes for a moment. She had never seemed so impatient before. Was something truly wrong? But it didn't matter right now. Kira had to make her promise.

Kira took a deep breath. "I promise I'll never leave you, mommy. You know that, right?" She whispered softly. Her mother managed to smile.

"Yes, I know that, honey. I know you promise never to leave me." Her mother whispered back. Kira smiled.

"And you promise never to-

"Kira," Her mother said, sighing impatiently once again. "I've really got to go. I don't have time for this. I never did finish those business things." She quickly bent down and kissed Kira on her forehead. "Goodnight, honey." And with that she walked out of the room, carefully closing the door behind her.

"-leave me either, right?" Kira finished slowly in hardly a whisper. They had always gone through this every single night. Kira would say "I promise I'll never leave you, mommy. You know that, right?" and then her mother would reply back saying "Yes, I know that, honey. I know you promise never to leave me." all the time. And then Kira would ask "And you promise never to leave me either, right?" and then her mother would reply back, grinning, "Of course. I promise I'll never leave you. Just as your locket says, we'll be together forever." Kira never got tired of it. But this was the first night her mother had not made her promise again. The first night. Kira just continued to lay on her bed, gazing at the door, the only source of light in her room from her nightlight. She promised herself she wouldn't fall asleep, not until her mother came back and gave her the promise. She wouldn't fall asleep. Ever.

Yet in a matter of minutes, the little girl's eyes slowly closed and she was swallowed up into a world of darkness.

_She continued to sit there, staring at the TV screen, now hugging her knees. The video seemed to go on and on as the tiny green numbers on the video player continued to change form. When did the video end? And why, when she had to rewind the video, were the past moments so blurry and full of static? Why?_

_Of course._

Kira's eyes flashed open at the sound of a door being franticly pushed open. In the darkness she could just barely she the outline of a tall figure quickly moving towards the desk. On the way there the figure flipped up the light switch. Squinting at the now blurry image, Kira could see that it was her mother.

"Mommy...?" Kira whispered softly. But her mother ignored her. Instead she snatched up Kira's golden locket and whirled around, only to meet the stare of about eight people dressed in black. On their heads they wore a cap with a blood-red letter R on them. This same R was on also on their shirts, seeming to glow and burn like a raging fire. Kira let out a small gasp of fear. Who were these people? And why were they in her and her mother's house? She grasped the edge of the blanket even closer to her face, but not over her eyes so she could keep careful watch over her mother. Her Eevee quickly jumped off the bed in a blur of brown and then swiftly weaved through her Mother's legs. A low growl emerged from the pokemon's throat as she arched her back, glaring at the people dressed in black.

"What do you want?!" Kira's mother cried out, breathing heavily. Behind her back she was fiddling with the tiny golden key attached to the chain of the locket.

"Stop playing with us." A man in the front replied darkly in a raspy voice. "You know perfectly well what we want." Though in the shadows of his cap Kira couldn't see his eyes, she could see his mouth grow into a wide twisted grin. Continuing to fiddle with the locket behind her back, Kira's mother franticly ripped the key off and stuffed it into her back pocket just as the man pulled out a pokeball.

_She felt her heart beating even more rapidly as the video went on, unaware of where she was. For the bright dancing colors had already swallowed her up and were now filling up her mind, taunting her. Her eyes widened as she continued to watch, with nothing to do but just sit there. That was all she could do. Just sit there._

The man tossed the pokeball up into the air revealing a blinding flash of red light. In the red light a large figure emerged. Soon Kira could see that the figure formed into a Rhydon, its thunderous roar shaking the whole house.

The man raised his head, revealing his cloud-gray eyes, gleaming with a dark emotion. "_Now,_ Katrina. Give it to us." He ordered. "Or else."

Kira's mother's eyes widened. "You wouldn't." She said, her voice trembling. "You're just Team Rocket. You wouldn't dare do it."

The gleaming horn on the Rhydon's head started spinning around franticly, making a loud whirring sound. "True, this usually isn't the way we take care of things." The man whispered. "But for this moment, we have an exception. You should already know all of this, Katrina." And with that the Rhydon charged for the Eevee. Kira let out a small scream and shut her eyes tightly as the whirring sound suddenly got louder, like a giant drill.

Then it stopped.

The deadly silence wafting through the air seemed to be choking Kira, daring her to open her eyes. She waited. No one said anything. Not a sound could be heard except the rapid beating of her heart in her chest. Then finally she opened her eyes, afraid of what the sight before her would turn out to be.

There lay her Eevee, limp on the ground, lifeless. Even the pokemon's chest wasn't heaving in and out. The people dressed in black weren't even looking. They just stood there, sneering at Kira's mother, whom was staring, horrified, at the sight on the ground. Kira choked out a small sob, shattering the deadly silence. At the sound of her daughter, Kira's mother glanced in her direction and then back at Team Rocket worriedly. She stood firm in front of Kira's bed. But Kira could see her legs trembling.

"_You._" Her mother said in hardly a whisper. The man in front just grinned again.

"Tisk tisk tisk... That's what happens when you don't give us what we want, Katrina." The man murmured. "Next time it will be you."

"If you killed me..." Kira's mother began slowly. "...then how would you get what you want?"

The man just stood there, slowly bringing back the shattered silence. His cloud-gray eyes wandered from the locket Kira's mother held in her trembling hands, to Kira. As he met Kira's gaze, a shiver raced up and down her spine. It felt as if he were trying to reach into her mind, as if he were staring through her soul.

"Oh, don't worry." The man replied. "We'll figure out how to get it."

That's when it happened.

Everything.

Kira had completely forgotten that the Rhydon was still there at the sight of her Eevee. But as the same loud and deadly whirring sound started and a shrill scream pierced the air, the cause of the Eevee's death suddenly swarmed back into Kira's mind. Only when the screaming got higher and louder did Kira realize she was screaming too, and she buried herself underneath the layers of blankets carefully laid out on her bed. Even covered by darkness and warmth that tried their best to sooth her mind, Kira could still hear all the horrifying sounds. Her whole body was trembling, seeming to shake all the tears out of Kira's eyes in one watery mess.

_She watched the video, horrified. As the seconds ticked by the moments just seemed to get worse, burying her in a thick layer of deadly and freezing ice that made a shiver run up her spine, taunting her. Perhaps she wouldn't be so afraid for the main character if she wasn't so into the video. Why was she feeling all of this? Why were all the deadly moments and silences being buried into her body, making her choke when she tried to scream for help? She had to clear all of it away. She knew she had to as her mind starting fogging up and everything got blurry. She took a deep shuttering breath. Then she screamed. The scream seamed to echo through the room, trying to escape back into her throat. But she wouldn't let it. But why, why couldn't anyone hear her scream? Why was she alone? And why was the video the only thing she could see and hear?_

Then everything stopped.

Kira knew this silence only too well, followed by the sight of her Eevee. But this time she was even more afraid than ever. She wished she could just stay there, buried underneath layers of blankets forever, protected by the darkness and warmth. She wished she could just lie there, only to find in a matter of seconds that she's woken up to the sight of her mother's kind smiling face to find that it was all just a bad dream. But it wasn't a dream. Kira knew it was anything but a dream as she felt herself slowly pull all the blankets off.

There lay her mother, as limp and lifeless as her Eevee.

"Well, our business here is done." The man grunted, finally shattering the silence. "Let's get out of here."

Kira was shocked to find that somebody, _anybody_, could say a word at that moment with her mother just laying there on the ground, lifeless. She choked out a loud sob and then quickly climbed out of her bed, carefully picking up her golden locket with one trembling hand, not daring to look into her mother's emotionless eyes. At the sight of Team Rocket staring at her intently, Kira quickly scrambled back into her bed, continuing to clutch the locket to her chest.

"What about the girl?" A woman in the back asked.

"Just let her go." The man replied, once again grinning. "We'll need her for later."

Another man nodded in agreement. "I never knew Katrina had a daughter." He said in a low voice. "Let alone an Eevee."

"Exactly." The man in front muttered. "Now let's go." And with that the Team Rocket grunts ran back into the hallway. But one girl only about eighteen years old remained behind, continuing to gaze at Kira. She made no movement at all. An emotion sparked in her mud-brown eyes, but Kira couldn't tell what it was.

"Clare!" The man shouted from the hallway. "Get over here! Now!" And then the girl quickly whirled around and followed the rest of Team Rocket.

Kira continued to clutch her grandmother's hand while trudging up the hill that seemed to go on forever. Around her neck dangled the golden locket, key-less. But she didn't notice. She hadn't paid any attention to her locket at all as blinding red lights surrounded her house and the police came running in, their heavy footsteps seeming to shake the whole house. Kira had been too frightened to speak.

"Little girl, you'll have to stay with your grandmother for now." They had told her a day later, when her mother's death had been confirmed.

"What do you mean by 'for now'?" Kira had asked in a small voice, clutching her locket. "Am I going to stay with a different relative after the funeral?"

"No, you're not. Your grandmother is your only living relative left." The woman had answered.

"Then what to you mean by 'for now'?" Kira repeated. The two women exchanged glances.

They never did end up answering Kira's question.

And now here she was with her grandmother, trudging up a huge hill towards her mother's grave where they had already laid down her coffin and were about to put the dirt back in.

"It'll probably rain soon." Kira's grandmother murmured softly. "It always rains during funerals." And sure enough as Kira glanced up at the afternoon sky, she saw it was smeared with dull gray clouds.

Finally after what seemed like hours, the two of them reached her mother's grave. Kira hadn't said anything the whole walk. Before them was a huge hole in the ground, a single tombstone at the ground's surface surrounded by daisies that were swaying in the wind. Small chimes echoed through the air in the distance. Leaning over to look into the huge hole, Kira saw the same pearl-white coffin she had seen before, pictures of flowers carefully carved into its surface. Her mother always loved flowers. Glancing over her shoulder Kira saw a tiny tear trickle down her grandmother's cheek. Kira just stood there, emotionless.

"Kira..." Her grandmother began slowly. "...aren't you even sad?"

Kira just stood there in silence as the seconds ticked by. Then she finally spoke. "I don't know." She simply answered, shrugging. But inside she was screaming.

Rain started lightly sprinkling down from the sky, prickling Kira's face.

"Kira." Her grandmother repeated in a whisper, bending down with difficultly to speak into Kira's ear. "Your mother is gone. Forever. She's left. You have to stop pretending that she's still here, because she isn't. It's not your fault."

The two continued to just stand there. All Kira did was nod. She felt like she would burst in a fit of sobbing. But she didn't. She just stood there in the rain, as emotionless as ever, staring out into the skies. The only thing she could feel was the rain prickling her face and a small tear rolling down her cheek.

_Suddenly, she realized why everything was happening. It all just seemed to stab her in the heart at once. She tried to stop screaming, but she couldn't._

_The main character in the video was her._

_Memories._


	2. Part 1

_**Part One**_

**Seven years later...**

I continued to trudge my way through the crunching grass, gazing at the skies beyond. The weight of my backpack slung on my back was just one little thing slowing me down. That was all. Its contents meant nothing. So did the frantic cries and shouts of students hurrying by. They too were just one little thing slowing me down, brushing past me or hurriedly bumping into my side, wind sending my tangled shining blonde hair into my face. My legs slowed down to a silent stop. My eyes were the only thing moving, wandering over to the bench beside me. Sighing, I collapsed onto the only resting place on the school grounds. I closed my eyes and let the warmth of the sun gleaming down on me carry my thoughts away like a Ponyta galloping, carrying a carriage away into the distance. Everything seemed quieter here.

A sudden cry pierced the silence. "Kira!" A voice shouted from a distance. My heart rose to my throat as my eyes flashed open. I couldn't let my thoughts get carried away like forgotten memories again.

Silly me. Silly Kira.

I glanced to my right, spotting the sight of a tall girl waving her arms around madly, brown hair swishing by her waist, quickly hurrying over in my direction. My heart sank. I gazed at the space in front of me intently, ignoring the girl's cries. But I couldn't mistake the sound of her unsteady footsteps echoing off the walls of the building, getter louder as the seconds ticked by. I gritted my teeth, waiting. Just waiting. I closed my eyes and winced as I felt more weight fall upon the bench.

"So, what's up Kira?" The girl asked, grinning. I paused a moment and then opened my eyes. Slowly turning my head to the left to face her deep brown eyes, I urged my body not to stand up and walk away right at that moment. I knew I had to answer her.

_Go away, go away. Go away, you idiot._

"Nothing much." I muttered under my breath just loud enough so that she could hear. I reached slightly under my grass-stained white T-shirt to grab the golden heart-shaped locket dangling from a chain around my neck. The words carefully engraved into its surface shimmered in the sunlight. _Together Forever._ What did they mean? Of course I had to forget. Of course.

"Hey, nice locket." The girl commented. She leaned in closer, her eyes trying to meet my gaze. But I won't let them. "Who do you have a photo of in there? Your boyfriend?" And with this she giggled slightly, a high-pitched giggle that seemed to ring in my eardrums.

_You. Idiot._

I'm trying my best to hold back the anger burning in my throat like a raging fire. "Of course not!" I snapped. "Why would I do an idiotic thing like that?!"

The girl frowned, disappointed. It's almost funny how she can't see any of the hate sparking in my eyes at this moment, hate that was also choking up my throat, hate I was trying to hold back. I don't want to be here. I really don't.

"Then who do you have a photo of in your locket?" The girl asked impatiently.

_Who? Don't forget what._

I bit my tongue and then winced. What am I supposed to say? That the key to my locket had "disappeared"? What are you supposed to do when your memories of a certain something have drifted away, and you were just reaching out for them blindly? Then of course other thoughts drift into my mind. What are you supposed to do when the image in your mind of someone you love that you'll never see again gets blurry, fogging up your mind? What are you supposed to do?

At the sound of a car honking near by I jumped slightly then hastily stood up, grabbing for my backpack. "Well, I've got to go." I whirled around and then raced to the blood-red shining car waiting for me at the edge of the street. An image of the girl franticly waving goodbye behind me appeared in my mind. I would've smirked if it wasn't for the relief that had drowned my heart at that moment. Relief that the car had come for me just in time. Relief. It was a simple thing.

I flopped down into the back car seat, tossing my bulging backpack aside to put on my seatbelt. The driver turned her head around to gaze at me, revealing her kind and wrinkled face. My grandmother. Of course. I had been living with her since I was five.

She smiled. "How was school today, Kira?" She asked in a raspy voice.

"Just okay." I muttered. I didn't know why my grandmother bothered to ask me the same exact question every day. I didn't know why I even bothered to answer. Perhaps she expected me to suddenly answer "Oh, it was great! I loved it!" one day. Yea, like that would ever happen.

I sighed and then turned my head to stare out the window, my grandmother waiting for traffic to die down. I gazed intently at the Pidgeys absent-mindedly pecking the ground for food. How care-free they looked. I wondered if they ever had a hard time trying to catch a fallen memory. I fiddled with the golden locket around my neck, staring at the words engraved into its surface.

"Grandma? What's on the photo inside my locket? Is there even a photo? And what happened to the key?" I asked, leaning my head back and closing my eyes.

This time it was my grandmother's turn to sigh. "I've told you this before, Kira - I don't know. Now please stop asking me." The car started moving faster, its low hum getting louder. I gritted my teeth. Was it really my fault that I had forgotten almost everything? Was it my fault that the single picture of my mother in my mind was getting even more blurry, yet the image of the people dressed in black was clear as crystal?

Obviously.

In a matter of minutes we had reached the driveway of the old house my grandmother lived in, its broken shutters just barely dangling off its dull gray walls. As we carefully stepped through the doorway in the garage to the inside of the house, the aroma of cranberry-scented perfume wafting through the air filled up my nose. I tossed my backpack onto the couch and then ran up the stairs, my thudding footsteps seeming to shake the walls of the house.

"Where are you going?" My grandmother called from downstairs.

"To straighten up my hair!" I answered, shouting down the stairs.

Straightening up my hair. Yea right.

I stepped into the bathroom and then quietly shut the door behind me. I turned my head to gaze at my reflection in the mirror. Gaze at my reflection. That's all I had wanted to do. Staring back at me was a girl, her tangled blonde hair lying limp at her shoulders. Her hazel eyes sparked with an emotion of millions of wonders. Me. Of course. My grandmother once said that when I was young my hair was short and curly, and my eyes were a sparkling sapphire-blue, always hiding an excited emotion inside. Now I'm different.

No, I wasn't the only thing that was different. My whole life was different.

My mother died. And according to my grandmother, an Eevee I once had died too.

A loud moan coming from downstairs interrupted my thoughts. I watched the reflection of my eyes in the mirror swallow up a worried expression. "Grandma?" I shouted. I shoved open the bathroom door and ran downstairs, my heart thudding. My grandmother was leaning over, her hands pressed to her chest, breathing heavily. "Grandma, are you okay?" I asked softy.

With difficulty my grandmother stood up straight and gazed into my eyes, trying to smile. "Yes, of course I am, Kira." She answered. "Don't worry about me." But her voice was shaky.

"Are you sure?" I asked, trying to reach into my grandmother's emotions.

"Yes, Kira dear." My grandmother once again answered. "You can go back upstairs now if you want."

I cast my grandmother one last worried glance before trudging my way back upstairs. Everyday I worried about her. She'd always notice this concern and tell me she was fine. But I knew she didn't have that much longer to live. She was in her eighties, after all. But of course I never told her this.

That's when I heard a loud heavy thud downstairs.

_You can never be too cautious Kira, right?_

No, of course not.

So that was why I whirled around and raced back downstairs, my heart seeming to thud louder than ever. Besides the sound of my heart pounding and the footsteps thudding against the worn-out carpet, everything was silent. The silence scarred me. No, it horrified me. For what seemed like a million times I had heard people say silence is golden. But right now silence was anything but golden. If it was, it was a hard, cold, emotionless gold that sent chills up my spine at the touch, unlike the gold that was dangling around my neck that seemed to give me warmth.

_Gold._ And to think some people were greedy for it.

_Kira knew this silence only too well, followed by the sight of her Eevee._

Why was that thought suddenly drifting through my head? Why did it seem so familiar? Was it perhaps a fallen memory of the past? Was it a fallen memory of when my mother died? I tried not to think about it. But I failed. Instead I found myself standing downstairs, staring horrified at the sight of my grandmother lying lifeless on kitchen floor.

That's when I realized my grandmother had a heart attack.

I didn't try to hear if she had a heartbeat or not. I didn't want to. Instead I felt myself picking up the telephone and dialing the only number that came to my mind with one trembling hand. 911. Everything seemed to go so quickly. I just remember answering a few quick questions for the man on the other side and then staring intently out the window, thinking to myself. Thinking about what would happen when my grandmother's death was confirmed. I didn't notice the tears streaming down my cheeks. Without even thinking, I ran. And ran, and ran, and ran. Ran away to the wilderness, searching.

Searching for the rest of those forgotten memories.

* * *

I stopped to catch my breath, bending over and staring at the ground. I stood up straight and then looked at my surroundings. I had run a long way. I probably shouldn't have run away. I really shouldn't have.

Stupid me. Stupid, stupid, Kira. But of course I had to run away.

I breathed in deeply, letting the brisk night air swallow me up. I leaned against the side of a building and closed my eyes. Yes, I shouldn't have run away. I was being stupid. But what else was I supposed to do? Nothing? Yea right.

A female voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Hey."

My eyes flashed open. I whirled around to the sight of a woman in her twenties leaning against another side of the building, absent-mindedly bumping a single pokeball up into the air and then catching it. She wasn't even looking at me.

"What?!" I snapped. I wasn't in the mood to talk to strangers.

The woman finally stopped tossing her pokeball up into the air and turned to look at me. She was emotionless. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"Running away." I answered simply.

Her eyes wandered over to the golden locket dangling around my neck. She took a step closer and then reached out a hand and gripped the locket lightly. I stood firm, ready to do anything if the woman made any sudden movement. I should've recognized those mud-brown eyes that where now gleaming with desire. I probably should've. But of course I didn't. Silly me.

"How can you be together with the person who gave you this if you run away?" She asked calmly.

I took a step backwards and then stared at the ground. "We haven't been together for seven years." I whispered softly.

There was silence as the woman paused for a moment.

She reached out a hand. "Then come with us." She said.

I looked up into her eyes. "What do you mean, come with 'us'?" I asked.

"Us. The team I belong to." The woman answered, smiling. "Team Rocket."

I should've recognized the name. The name Team Rocket. The name my mother had once said right before she had died. I should've recognized the name as I smiled gratefully, not thinking, and reached out to grab the woman's hand. But of course I didn't. People are so easy to fool, to fog up, when they're reaching out blindly for something. Like fallen memories. Since I was so intent in remembering, I shouldn't have taken the woman's hand. Then why, why? I'll never know. In the future I'll never be able to rewind the video of my memories and change the actions I did on that one day my grandmother died. Of course I won't.

But none of these thoughts occurred to me as I reached out to take a hold of the woman's hand, and we walked down the dusty deserted street of the city.


	3. Part 2

_**Part Two**_

I pressed my hands against the hard cold window, my slow steady breath baring fog upon its surface. What a wonderful view I had from up here. People hurrying by were just small specks slowly inching across the ground below me, while cars were colored rectangles moving slightly faster. But despite this feeling of being lifted up into the air, I couldn't forget that I was still in a helicopter with some stranger.

The stranger. I still didn't know her name. If my memories weren't so fogged up, I should've been able to remember her name. But of course I didn't. The woman hadn't spoken at all since our small conversation in the city. She did tell me to get inside the helicopter and put on my seatbelt, but that was it.

"We're here." She said softly.

I turned to look through the other window to my left. Finally, after wandering through a large barren field, we had come to a large black building. On the front above the huge glass doors was a blood-red R. I should've recognized that too, as I grasped my golden locket tightly and shut my eyes, taking a deep shuddering breath.

The woman must have seen me. "What's wrong?" She asked, smirking. "Airsick?"

My eyes flashed open as I stood up. "Sure. That's it." I muttered. Shoving the door open, I jumped onto the ground, my legs shaking for a moment. I took a deep breath of fresh air, and then continued on towards the building's front doors. The woman was close behind. As we came to the front door, she stepped in front of me, quickly tapping a code of numbers into the small mechanical device attached to the wall. A small laser of green light then swept across her eyes, the huge glass doors finally opening. All I could do was just stand there and watch in awe.

As they opened the woman took one step backwards so we were walking side-by-side. One of her hands was tightly grasping my right shoulder the whole way. I tried shrugging it off once, but she kept a firm grip. I sighed, staring at the ground, the woman leading the way. This might have been a mistake. But it might not have. All I knew was that this woman was somehow connected to my mother's death.

Even one simple chain can make a difference.

"Boss, I have the girl." The woman said. I looked up to find her speaking into a small speaker attached to the wall beside another large door.

There was silence on the other end for a moment, as the only thing I could hear was the rapid pounding of my heart in my chest. Then, they spoke.

"Come in." Came a sharp reply full of static. The person on the other end was an adult male. The door in front of us slid open with a soft hiss. I paused for a moment, staring thoughtfully at the large open room before me. But the woman eagerly shoved me forward, forcing my legs to move. We stepped up to a large rosewood desk, a man with dirt-brown hair sitting in a tall jet-black leather seat, slowly stroking something in his lap.

"I've been waiting a long time, Clare." The man said in a whisper, whirling around in his chair. He had cloud-grey eyes, and his hair was slicked back. In his lap lay a Persian, purring contently with every long stroke. The man grinned.

_Clare._ Of course. Seven years ago. Eighteen years old. Just standing there, gazing. Gazing at me. Gazing with those mud-brown eyes. Eyes sparking with an emotion I couldn't make out. An emotion. Clare.

"Sorry, boss." Clare hastily apologized. "But the girl came to me rather late."

"I see." The man murmured, now scanning my appearance with hungry eyes. They stopped once they reached the sight of my golden locket. That cloud-grey color sparked with the same emotion of desire, just as Clare's had. But this time it was much stronger, more of a greedy desire. "If you could step outside for a moment, please."

Clare nodded and stepped out of the room, the door quietly shutting behind her. Looks like there was no turning back.

The man took a deep breath and shut his eyes, pausing, as if to savor the moment. Then his eyes flashed open. "Kira, do you know what Team Rocket is?" He asked, staring intently at me. I quickly turned away. I couldn't bear his sharp gaze any longer. Those cold eyes almost seemed to pierce my soul.

"How do you know my name?" I asked softly, hardly daring to breathe.

"Answer me first." He said, rather sharper and louder this time. I took a small step backwards, but tried not to show any emotions of fear.

"No, I don't." I answered, staring at the ground.

The man smirked. "Team Rocket..." He said slowly in a haunting whisper. "...is a criminal organization, girl. And _I_ am the founder of it. _I_ am the leader."

I just stood there for a moment, gawking. _Criminal organization._ The words buzzed through my head, making me feel dizzy.

"What do you want with me?" I asked slowly.

The man chuckled. "Too many questions, too many questions. First let me answer your first one." He said, continuing to smirk. "First of all, my name is Giovanni. And how do I know your name? Because I knew your parents, that's how."

My breath was taken away. _This man knew my parents._ Perhaps he could help clear up my memories, to not act blind, and to actually catch them. But he was the head of a criminal organization, and I couldn't forget that.

"And?" I replied in hardly a whisper.

Giovanni leaned in close, his hot breath brushing down against my face. "If you join Team Rocket, I'll tell you all you want to know about them. All you want to know about your parents and your past."

I didn't even have to think about my answer. "No." I said firmly.

I expected Giovanni to frown at my answer, to perhaps shout at me, to take me by the arm and throw me hard against the wall. But instead his mouth grew into a small, evil grin. Why was he looking at me like that?

"Come with me." He ordered, dragging me by the wrist out the door. His grasp was even firmer than Clare's. I tried to hold back, but he didn't even glance behind. Instead he just jerked his hand forward, forcing me to move once again. After quickly walking a little while, we came to what appeared to be a trophy room. Tons of gold sparkling trophies and medals sat on desks and were hung on walls, baring awards such as "Team Rocket Grunt Of The Year" and "Hardest Mission To Be Accomplished". Finally we stopped at a rather large gold trophy, standing tall only a few feet away from the ceiling. Engraved into its surface were the words "This Award Goes To The Barer Of Ten 'Team Rocket Grunt Of The Year' Awards:" in neat letters.

We just stood there for a moment. I was breathing heavily.

"Look at the name, Kira." Giovanni whispered into my ear. My eyes wandered down to the first and last names also engraved into the trophy's surface.

**John Markus**

_John_. That was the name of my father. _Markus_. And that was my family's last name. For my name was Kira Markus.

My father had been part of a criminal organization. My father had been part of Team Rocket.

I shut my eyes and shook my head in disbelief, my tangled hair brushing against the sides of my face. But when I slowly opened my eyes back up, the name was still there, engraved on the trophy's golden surface, engraved into my mind. _John Markus_. I couldn't get the name out of my head.

"No. My father wasn't part of Team Rocket. He might have left my mother when I was three, but I know he wasn't a criminal. He couldn't have been." I choked out. That's what I wanted to believe. But my spoken words were battling against the engraved words on the trophy, and they were losing. I gulped down the worries that seemed to be drowning out my heart.

"Your father was great, you know. My best Team Rocket member ever." Giovanni continued, an amused look in his eyes.

"Liar!" I spat.

"If he was still alive and if I died for some reason, he'd probably be my replacement. Not that I'd mind. In fact, if the last words ever spoken to me were that your father would be the new leader of Team Rocket, I'd probably die grinning."

One memory of my past I did have was an image. An image of a look of pure emptiness and terror etched on my lifeless mother's face as she just continued to lay there on the cold ground in my room.

"How can somebody die grinning?" I whispered softly, gazing at the ground. I raised my head to find an angry frown etched on Giovanni's face. He seemed disappointed in me.

"Kira." Giovanni said, sighing. He leaned in close to whisper into my ear once again. A shiver ran down my spine as he did this. It always made me uncomfortable to have him so close. "You could be great too, you know."

I stepped away from Giovanni and stared intently into his cold eyes. "Someday I may become great. But I will not become great by joining a criminal organization. Becoming a criminal is not my destiny." I said firmly.

Giovanni's eyes wandered down to the golden locket I was tightly grasping in my now sweaty hands. "And being together forever with the person who gave you your locket is your destiny instead?" He asked, smirking.

I glared at Giovanni for a moment, anger surging through my veins. Then I spoke. "This locket was a promise, not destiny. But there was no way my mother could keep it because she got killed seven years ago." I replied through gritted teeth.

There was silence, a deadly cold and choking silence. As Giovanni's eyes filled up with a delighted emotion, I knew that he was ready to speak. But he did not, at least for now. There we were, just the two of us, a female pre-teenager and a male adult, trying to stare each other down.

Then he spoke. "Kira, do you know when your father died?" Giovanni asked in a slow whisper.

"No." I answered simply, continuing to stare into his eyes. Giovanni took a deep breath, as if he had been practicing this conversation for years and now it all came to this.

"Your father died the exact moment you were given your locket."

My breath was taken away. All I could do was just there and gawk. My father and mother divorced when I was three. My father died when I was four. And then my mother died when I was five. Only now, at the age of twelve, had I learned about my father's death. For years there had been that deadly gap between age three and age five. But now I knew. Now I knew almost everything. Giovanni could've been lying. But I didn't care. All I knew was that he knew about my parents and my past, and those last words of his was all it took.

"I'll join you. I'll join Team Rocket." I whispered.

Giovanni's face grew into a wide grin, the widest grin I will ever see in my life.

As I whirled around to walk out the doors that had led to the trophy room in which we stood in, the last shouted words I heard from Giovanni were "A broken promise is a broken promise, no matter how it shattered! Your mother betrayed you and your father!"

Betrayal.

* * *

A hard cold round object was placed in my hand. My eyes flashed open, revealing the sight of a pokeball. I looked down at the tight black uniform that my body bared. My naval was exposed. The same large blood-red R that was above the front doors of the building was etched on the front of my shirt. The typical female Team Rocket uniform.

"Have you ever held one of these in your hand before? Have you ever battled using pokemon?" Clare asked in a whisper.

I shook my head no, now staring intently ahead at the open battle field before me.

"Answer me out loud!" Clare ordered sharply.

"No." I said hastily. Clare gazed at me for a moment, and then walked over to the opposite side of the battlefield.

"If you ever want to be a good member of Team Rocket, you need to know how to battle well." Clare said firmly, her hand sweeping from behind her back, revealing another pokeball. "I'm sure you can at least let the pokemon out of that pokeball." And with this she lazily tossed her pokeball up into the air, revealing a blinding flash of red light. I shielded my eyes for a moment with my left hand, and then dropped it. There stood a Murkrow, cawing at the air, frantically flapping its jet-black feathery wings. I gritted my teeth. I knew the moment I decided to join Team Rocket that I'd have to learn to battle. Whether I'd be able to do it well or not, I didn't know. But the words Clare had whispered to me were still etched in my mind along with Giovanni's past words. _"You have your father's blood in you."_ The thought made my stomach seem to twist. I wondered if this was true or not, if I'd really be a great Team Rocket member just like my father had been, if I'd be able to battle well.

I shook my head rapidly and then followed Clare's actions, tossing my pokeball up into the air. This time I resisted the urge to shield my eyes once again and watched the figure of a Houndour emerge in the red light.

"This Houndour shall be your own pokemon that you and only you can use." Clare said loudly from across the room. "It's not so strong now, but if you succeed to follow through with my training and follow the boss's directions, it shall get stronger and hopefully evolve into a Houndoom. Do you understand?"

I was going to nod my head, but then quickly remembered Clare's past sharp order and instead spoke out loud. "Yes." I answered firmly. I continued gritting my teeth, a nervous feeling pricking my throat. I would've been even more nervous if I hadn't been thinking of the betrayal I went through when I was young. _"A broken promise is a broken promise, no matter how it shattered! Your mother betrayed you and your father!"_ Betrayal. Just then I felt the anger surge through my veins, as my stare turned into a glare.

"Good. Now, order your Houndour to attack my Murkrow. Any attack at all." Clare ordered sharply.

I nodded and shut my eyes. Attacks. I had often spent my free time sitting and watching pokemon battles on TV, staring wide-eyed at the flashing colors. I was pretty familiar with attacks.

My eyes flashed open. "Houndour, trap it with Fire Spin!" I ordered quickly.

I watched as my Houndour stood firm in the middle of the battle field and gazed at the ground for a moment. Then, taking a deep breath, its head shot up revealing a large beam of glowing and burning red fire. Sweating, I could feel the heat from where I was standing as the fire shot around the Murkrow, continuing to sweep around the pokemon in circles, only stopping a few seconds later. My Houndour barked triumphantly. But there was no time to waist.

"Now get above the Murkrow and use Flamethrower!" I followed through.

My Houndour bent its hind legs for a moment, glaring at its target, and then took a flying leap and soared through the air above the Murkrow's head. Opening its mouth the pokemon revealed yet more large licking glowing flames, this time unleashed all at once in one mad furry at the poor Murkrow. The flames swept around through the air for a moment, trapped inside the wheel of fire I had ordered my Houndour to make before. The only signs that Clare's Murkrow was even there was some small flashes of black now and then. Then the flames faded, just a few small ones here and there licking the edges of the Murkrow's wings lying limp at its side. The bird pokemon was on the ground. Black feathers were drifting down from the air, seeming to have been plucked one by one. And there were charcoal-black scorch marks everywhere. I had won the battle.

Clare just stood there for a moment, gawking at me. She shut her eyes and held her breath for a moment, and then let it out. Her eyes flashed open. "Um... good job, I guess." She shouted across the room weakly, not her usual sharp and strict self.

I couldn't help it. I grinned. Little did Clare know that anger was my secret weapon.

* * *

"The boss seems to favor her." The woman whispered quietly, leaning against the wall along with Clare. Out in the distance fire attacks were being shot randomly into the air. The back of Giovanni's head was barely visible as he continued to stand there, carefully watching Kira's battle.

"Duh." Clare replied, rolling her eyes. "Katie, come on. This is Kira. The one we've been searching for. The one with the golden locket."

There was silence for a moment as Clare and Katie gazed out into the distance. Katie then sighed, shattering the silence.

"Yea, I know. But why not just take the thing right now while we've got her? What's the point in making her one of us?" Katie muttered.

"Because we can put her to good use. The boss knows what he's doing. Just look at how good she battles."

"You think I haven't noticed already? It's so darn annoying! I mean, come on... the little brat is only twelve!" Katie spat, glaring at Kira as she ordered yet another attack.

An image of Kira five years old, her horrified pale face full of fear and staring raced through Clare's mind.

"But what the boss told me to tell her is right." Clare replied softly.

"And what was that?"

Silence.

"She has her father's blood in her."

_Of course._


	4. Part 3

_**Part Three**_

**Three years later...**

I wouldn't let them catch me. Not that I had to worry. The words racing through my mind seemed to power up my legs, forcing them to quickly carry me through the building. I hastily ducked my head this way and that, dodging walls, doorframes, and tall glass tables. I muttered some curses under my breath as I slowed down to brush away the tangled hair of mine that kept flying in front of my face in my mad attempt to escape on time. If I didn't succeed, punishment would be the only thing wafting through the air. Giovanni wouldn't be very happy with me if that happened.

"You there! Stop!" A male shouted, standing firmly in front of me. But scanning his appearance, I could see that his legs were trembling. Maybe the emotion of fear spreading throughout his eyes was because of the blood slowly dripping from both my bare shoulders and forehead. Whatever it was, fear of me would overpower him for sure. He stood no chance against me.

I smirked. "Sorry, but I'm in kind of a hurry." I hissed, tossing a pokeball up into the air to reveal my Houndoom in a blinding flash of red light. At the sight of the trembling man blocking our path, the dog pokemon issued a deep snarl from low in its throat.

Just a quick small flick of the wrist. That's all it took. For in the time of a split second of a heartbeat that I did that, my Houndoom bent its hind legs slightly and then soared through the air, tackling the man to the ground a furry of sharp piercing teeth and claws. The man was now pinned to the ground. My smirk grew even bigger.

I slowly walked over to the scene and stroked the Houndoom's jet-black fur for a moment. "Hm... for the finishing touch, let's give him..." I paused for a moment, thinking. "...a Shadow Ball attack." And with this my Houndoom opened up its mouth wide, revealing a small sphere of glowing and misty dark energy. As the man's frightened eyes got larger, so did the sphere. And then with one mighty roar, the Houndoom unleashed the now large sphere in one mad wave of black and gray shadows. The last whispered words I heard before I saw the sight of the man just lying there unconscious were _"Team Rocket!"_. I patted my pokemon on the head and then once again tossed the pokeball up into the air, my Houndoom dissolving into tiny specks of particles in a flash of light. I could now continue on.

And so I did. I continued at the pace I had been running and ducking before I had encountered the man. And in just a matter of minutes, I was standing outside on top of a hill overlooking the building, breathing in the fresh brisk air. Once I had caught my breath, I carefully slid a small flat gray object out of my uniform's single pocket. It was no larger than the palm of my hand.

"You might be tiny, but you sure do pack a punch." I whispered, grinning. And with this I summoned all the strength I could and tossed the object into the air towards the middle of the building.

I just stood there with that grin on my face, watching as the building exploded in a burst of flames and smoke, its large roar-sounding waves seeming to burst through my ears.

I tossed the cap with the blood-red R I had worn on my aching head up into the air with a shout of joy. My job here was done. Giovanni will be very happy with I come back to the Team Rocket headquarters.

* * *

"This is Kira Markus." I said into the small jet-black speaker attached to the wall near the door. "I've succeeded. I have the pokemon with me."

There was silence on the other end for a moment, as always. Then Giovanni spoke. "Ah... very good, Kira. Come in." And with a soft hiss the door slid open. I quickly walked into the large open room, standing up firmly, pride swelling in my chest. Giovanni sat at his rosewood desk before me, slowly stroking his purring Persian as usual. Lots of papers and blueprints were stacked in one messy pile in front of him, a few here and there scattered about.

"Give it to me." He ordered sharply.

"Yes, boss." I replied, grabbing what I had stolen from my uniform's pocket. It was just as single ultraball, seeming to sparkle in the light. But the pokemon inside it made up for the lack of specialty the ball had itself.

A wide grin formed on Giovanni's face as he reached over to snatch the ultraball from my sweaty hand. "Yes... very good, very good indeed." He murmured. Then he carefully set the ultraball on his desk. "This was a very difficult mission, and I'm sure you have realized that by now, Kira."

"Yes, boss." I replied proudly.

"In the three years that you have been a part of Team Rocket, I have never seen you do so well on such a hard mission. Not that you did badly before. You are probably the best member we have." Giovanni complimented. "So now I think it's time to give you the final mission that I've been waiting to give you ever since I first saw you when you were twelve."

I bit my lip, waiting. "I think I'm ready too, boss." I replied firmly. My head spun with the possibilities.

Giovanni chuckled. But the amused look etched on his face was instantly swept away from by a serious one, his cloud-gray eyes becoming colder, trying to stare me down. Only when I blinked weakly did his eyes wander down to my neck, were just a slight flash of gold could be seen sparkling in the light.

"Where's your locket?" He asked sharply.

I was a bit shocked at Giovanni's sudden question. The last time he had spoken of my locket was three years ago, when he had explained to me about my father's death and how my mother betrayed me. But then again he still had that emotion of a greedy desire whenever his eyes flashed towards the locket's direction.

"Its right here, boss." I answered, slipping the golden locket out from under the shirt of my uniform, letting it dangle from my neck. I kept it with me wherever I went, no matter how dangerous the mission was.

There it was, that look. Greed. Desire. "Good. Do you know what's inside that locket of yours?" He asked slowly.

I stepped backwards and gazed at the ground. And image of three years ago, a girl with brown hair swishing by her waist, frantically running towards me in unsteady steps flashed through my mind.

"No, boss." I replied softly. "I figure there's some sort of photo inside it, though."

"Where's the key?"

"I don't know, boss. I lost it ten years ago, when I was five."

Silence. Giovanni was thinking about what to say next, thinking about the words that were about to come slithering out of his mouth. I could tell by the focused look in his eyes.

"What if I told you I know where the key is?" Giovanni finally said, a small smile forming on his face.

I gawked at him. Suddenly, I didn't care anymore about calling him 'boss'. I didn't care about anything except for that key, the key to not only my locket but also my past.

"Where is it?" I whispered darkly. "Tell me."

Giovanni's smile grew into a wide grin, like I predicted it would. But it something was different about it. It was a twisted-looking grin.

"Somebody has it... but they're dead." He answered. His eyes burned into mine, trying to figure out what I was feeling at that moment. But I wouldn't let them.

"They're dead." I repeated in disbelief, blinking stupidly.

"Then if you want it back, looks like you'll have to go grave digging, huh?" Giovanni said with a smirk.

"Fine." I snapped. "Just tell me where the grave is."

"It's in the graveyard just fifty miles away from here... I'm sure you know of it. It's the grave in the sixth row, third column. The one with all the daisies around it." Giovanni answered calmly.

Daisies, huh? For some reason the name of those flowers sparked something in my mind. But it quickly faded away.

"Okay then. I'll leave as soon as I can." I said firmly, whirling around to walk out the door.

"Oh, and Kira?"

"Yes, boss?"

"Don't you dare fail me during this mission." He said in a sharp dark whisper.

"Yes, boss." I replied.

As I walked out of the room the door slid shut with a hiss behind me. I walked towards the bathrooms in a quick pace, an image of the key to my locket swarming through my mind.

I smirked. If I was going to be digging up a grave, I should at least wash off the stained blood all over me from my last mission.

* * *

"Nothing beats brisk night air." I murmured, breathing in the freshness surrounding me. Grass crunched underneath my feet as I trudged through the large graveyard, pausing a moment to brush back my tangled hair behind my ears. The barely-noticeable weight dangling around my neck usually would've made me go faster. Yet nothing was forcing my legs to move in my mad attempt to find the key to my past. Perhaps it was the fact that I was in a graveyard, and eerie feeling wafting throughout the air, drowning out my heart.

Of course not.

I came to a sudden halt at one particular grave. It wasn't the one Giovanni had told me to look for, but it was... different. The tombstone was black, a crescent moon carefully engraved into its polished rock surface. I slowly ran my fingers over the outline, coldness racing through them. As my fingertips wandered down to the name on the grave, I knew why I had been drawn to it. _Mary Coalmire_. This was my grandmother's grave.

At first I just felt blank inside. But then that's when I felt the anger start prickling my heart. "Why did you have to have a daughter?!" I whispered, gritting my teeth. The grandmother I had stayed with after my mother died, the grandmother who had died of a heart attack three years ago, was my mother's mother. I knew it was stupid wishing my grandmother never had my mother - if she didn't, I wouldn't exist.

I sighed and closed my eyes. Maybe it would be better if I didn't exist, though.

My eyes flashed open as I continued on. Sixth row, third column. Daisies. As the seconds ticked by and my feet carried me closer to my destination, I started wondering why Giovanni even wanted me to do such an idiotic mission.

As the grave I had been searching for came into sight, daisies being brushed to the side by a soft wind, I squinted my eyes to read the name. Only then did I find out why Giovanni sent me on the 'idiotic' mission. Or so I thought.

**Katrina Markus  
1955 - 1995**

**A loving caring friend, wife, mother, protector, and lover, she shall always be remembered in those whose hearts are true.**

My breath was taken away. This was my mother's grave. Giovanni was testing me.

Immense anger surged through my veins I continued to stand there glaring at the name engraved in the tombstone, my fists clenched. I had never felt anger this strong before. I felt like shouting my lungs out in one mad wave of furry. A couple years ago I would have been feeling a mixture of sadness and fear. But I was different now. I was tougher. Digging up my mother's grave would be easy.

I tossed my pokeball up into the air, once again revealing my Houndoom in a blinding flash of red light, seeming to glow brighter in the night air. "Houndoom, dig up this grave and tell me once you've found the coffin." I ordered sharply. My Houndoom barked in reply and started frantically tearing at the ground's surface with its sharp piercing claws.

I sighed at sat down on a small bench, resting my weary legs. I propped up my tired face with my hand, my elbow resting on the cold surface of the armrest, and gazed out at the full glowing moon. Here I was I was in a graveyard in the middle of the night, digging up a grave. I had actually watched a movie like this when I was five, my eyes growing wide with fear and panic as the seconds ticked by. Eventually my mother had to turn the movie off, to the relief of my Eevee, whom I had been nearly choking to death in my wild attempt to not scream.

A loud frantic bark from my Houndoom interrupted my thoughts. I stood up from the bench, taking a moment to stretch, and then trudged over to a large hole surrounded by piles of dirt. I bit my lip as I looked down, revealing the sight of my mother's coffin. It was white with flowers carefully carved into its surface, just how it had been that one rainy day I had visited the graveyard with my grandmother.

"Good job, Houndoom." I told the dog pokemon, swiftly jumping down into the wide hole. I ran my fingers over the polished wood carved flowers, just as I had done with the engraved crescent moon on my grandmother's tombstone. Then with one deep shuddering breath, I lifted up the cover of the coffin, quickly turning away. No matter how much I hated my mother, I didn't want to look inside her coffin.

"Ugh!" I choked out, coughing. The stench was horrible. A few weary whimpers were heard coming from my Houndoom. "Houndoom, get the key and give it to me. It's tiny and made of the same type of gold my locket is." I ordered firmly. I heard frantic sniffing coming from my Houndoom as it searched frantically through the coffin, and then barked. At the touch of something small and cold being dropped into my hand, my face grew into a grin.

"Come on, Houndoom. Our job here is done." I said, climbing up over the hole. I didn't care that my hands, elbows, and shoulders were now covered in dirt, scrapes, and bruises. I quickly ran over to the bench after returning my Houndoom to its pokeball, and sat down, breathing heavily with excitement. Finally, after all these years, I would find out what was inside my locket.

With one trembling hand I grasped the tiny key in my hand in slid it into the hole in my locket. With one twist to the left, the locket opened with a small click.

There it was. The photo. The photo of my mother, Eevee, and I, laughing happily. My short blond curly hair seemed to shimmer in the sunlight, and my sapphire-blue eyes sparkling with a care-free emotion. How different I looked at the time compared to now.

With a small click I closed the locket back up and sank to my knees in the damp grass, tossing my Team Rocket cap to the ground. Mixed emotions seemed to explode inside my heart as I started doing something I hadn't done for years, something I thought I'd never do.

I cried. And cried, and cried, and cried. I cried my heart out, tears bursting from my eyes.

In that one quick moment, everything seemed to hit me all at once like a bolt of lightning. In that one quick moment, I realized all the mistakes I had made in the past couple of years. My heart seemed to sink below the ground and leap to my throat at the same time. And the fact that I had to quit being a part of Team Rocket wasn't the only thing I had realized.

My mother didn't betray me.

I betrayed my mother.

Betrayal.


	5. Part 4

_**Part Four**_

"Well, did you get it?"

Giovanni's slow and careful voice seemed to echo through my eardrums, alerting my senses, waking me up from my own little daydream. I slowly raised my head to glare into his eyes.

"Yes, boss." I answered firmly through gritted teeth. _Boss._ I had gotten bored of called him that for three years now, and never particularly liked it. But now I despised it completely. But there was nothing more I despised than Giovanni himself and this whole criminal organization. He wasn't my boss anymore. I didn't have to listen to him or answer his questions. Yet I continued on, waiting.

"What was in it?" Giovanni asked calmly. But I could tell from staring into his eyes that he was trying to hide the eagerness, to shove it back down his throat, to not let it slither out of his mouth.

I paused a moment, the image of my mother, Eevee, and I, all laughing happily racing through my mind.

"A photo." I answered simply. I had forgotten to call him 'boss'. Not that I really cared.

"A photo." Giovanni repeated, smirking. "A photo of whom?"

Feeling the answer at the tip of my tongue, I hastily bit my lip and thought for a moment. No, he can't know.

"Me." I lied. "Just me, when I was four years old." I continued giving Giovanni a firm dark glare in hope that he wouldn't see through me, revealing the lie I had just spoke. As long as he didn't ask to see the photo, I was okay.

"Fine." Giovanni said simply. "I better tell you about the ship."

I blinked in surprise. "A ship?"

"Yes." Giovanni said, a smirk once again arising on his face. "A cruise ship, to be specific. For the past month we have worked on taking over the S.S. Aqua, our only hopes on reaching a certain island."

"A certain island." I repeated in disbelief, blinking. What was this, a treasure hunt? These plans of Giovanni weren't like him. First dig up a grave to retrieve the key to my locket, then take over a cruise ship and go to some island in the middle of the ocean? It all sounded so idiotic. Idiotic, just like how I had been acting for the past three years.

Giovanni must have seen the mixed emotions I was feeling through the look sparking in my eyes. "I didn't have you help because this whole plan is connected to what's inside your locket. I had to give you other missions in order to prepare you." Giovanni said softly. Impatience swarmed through his eyes.

So we were going to an island in the middle of the ocean because of a photo in my locket. Right. Okay. And odd emotion pricked at my heart.

"When are we leaving?" I asked, sighing.

"Tomorrow. Eight in the morning." Giovanni answered. "So you better get some rest."

"Yes, boss." I replied firmly. I whirled around and walked out of the large room, the door closing shut behind me with a soft hiss. Gazing out the windows at the night sky, I couldn't help smirking.

That would be the last time I ever call Giovanni 'boss'. Tomorrow would be the last day I was part of Team Rocket. I'd finally be able to escape from the deadly mistake I made three years ago. I'll go on the S.S. Aqua with them, alright. But only to see what the island had to do with the photo in my locket.

Tomorrow will be the first time I'll actually be happy about betraying someone.

* * *

I placed my elbows on the rail of the ship and rested my head on my damp hands, gazing out into the sea beyond. The sun cast its bright sparkling reflection upon the water's choppy surface, and Wingulls cried out from above. I breathed in the fresh salty air, light ocean mist stinging my cheeks. It was the first time I had been on a ship, let alone near the ocean. The S.S Aqua was still in the harbor, but I could already feel the light rocking of the ship. We would begin to trip any moment now. My time of being a Team Rocket member was slowly ticking down to its last minutes.

"So are you ready for this?"

The sudden sound of Clare's voice startled me out of my thoughts. I whirled around to face her, only to realize that I forgotten to hide my locket away. It was still clutched in my hand, its surface now cold and wet from the salty ocean mist. I just stood there for a moment, staring into her eyes. _Was_ I ready for this? Was I ready to betray someone yet again, even if I hated them?

"Yea, I guess." I muttered. I opened my mouth to say more, but then closed it again at the emotion wafting through Clare's eyes. For the past three years I had never seen anything like it. A soft emotion, a different emotion. But ten years ago was a different story. Funny, how you can sometimes remember the simplest things, but not the important ones that your heart aches to know.

Clare noticed my thoughtful gaze. "What?" She snapped, the soft emotion in her eyes I has seen before quickly evaporating.

I took a deep breath. This conversation would probably be one of the last I had with Clare. I had to tell her something, I had to ask her something.

"You were there, weren't you?" I whispered softly. "When I was five years old... I saw you."

As a cold deadly silence stung the air around us, I was oblivious to everything except Clare's piercing stare. I couldn't even feel the sudden lurch as the S.S. Aqua began its trip out into the sea.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Clare said icily. But I knew her lies couldn't defeat the hidden memories now revealing their selves inside my mind. I was about to reply back when she whirled around and then quickly walked in the opposite direction.

Straight towards where Giovanni was staying.

Sighing, I once again turned to face the vast ocean. I didn't care anymore about what Clare might tell Giovanni. I didn't care about anything anymore, only that I didn't belong here. I lifted the golden locket up over my head and gazed at the words carefully engraved in its surface. _Together Forever._ A single promise both my mother and I made to each other. But of course my mother couldn't keep it. How could she, when death was ready to leap through the air at her, when death was ready to shatter all promises? But there had been no death coming for me. Yet I left her. I left my mother and my grandmother. If there was never this promise, there would never be anything shattered. There would never be any betrayal.

As those thoughts kept prodding at my heart, hatred swarmed through my veins and made me grasp the locket even harder, my other hand firmly clenched into a fist. Why did we have to make this stupid promise anyways? I took a hold of the tiny golden key and quickly opened up the locket in a wave of furry. Carefully slipping my fingernail under the small photo, I took a hold of it and then placed it inside my uniform pocket. Then I closed the locket back shut with a small click and stared out and the sparkling sapphire skies.

Sometimes you wonder how you did things you never thought you'd do. Wondering why everything went so quickly, like it did as I grasped the locket in my hand even firmer and then drew my whole arm backwards and summoned all the strength I could. Only then did time seem to stand still, seeming to wait for my next move. Even silence seemed to wait, waiting impatiently, seeming to choke me. With just a single breath I shattered it. And with a single quick swift movement of my arm, I threw the golden locket engraved with a deadly promise nobody would ever be able to keep. A small splash and then a flash of gold. That was the last I saw of the locket before it sank down to the watery depths below.

For both the first and last moment of my life, the whole world seemed to stand still in an eerie wave of silence, waiting to see if I would regret the action I just took.

But I don't regret it. I don't regret it at all.

Only at the sound of Giovanni's quick and steady footsteps against the surface of the ship did the world seem to finally let its breath out. But I only let mine out after I quickly whirled around to face his furious glare piercing into mine. The actions that took place before I threw my locket out into the sea seemed to be far off in the distance in my mind, as if they happened years ago. But they happened only a couple minutes ago, and I forced the fog surrounding them to lift. Yes, of course. I told Clare that she was there when I was five years old, when my mother died, but she had brushed away my words and then ran off towards Giovanni. And now here he was, standing firm in front of me. Things weren't going to be good.

"Where's your locket?" Giovanni snapped.

"I threw it off the ship into the ocean." I replied calmly without hesitation, continuing to stare into Giovanni's eyes with no sign of weakness.

"_What?!_" Giovanni spat. I could see no emotions showing through his eyes, just a blank weary look. And the only thing I heard in his voice was disbelief, maybe even panic.

"I threw it off the ship into the ocean." I repeated, just as calmly as before. But my muscles were tense, ready to spring into any necessary action. And as I watched Giovanni's eye twitch just once, I knew I'd have to take that action soon.

Giovanni opened his mouth in reply, but no sound came out. He just continued standing there with that blank look of disbelief in his eyes. I watched as his hands turned into clenched fists and his open mouth closed back up, now gritting his teeth. Only then did the anger start sparking in his eyes, prickling his heart, boiling in his veins. For the first time in the three years that I had known him, he appeared to be anything but calm.

No words were heard. Only a shout full of all the furry he could hold at once. And along with this furious shout, Giovanni lunged at me with his arms stretched out in front of him, his hands grasping madly for my neck. Ready, I bent my legs slightly and then leaped up to the railing of the ship in one swift movement, Giovanni's hands missing me by inches.

"I won't let you mess with the memories I've lost any longer." I whispered softly.

_After all, we aren't that far away from the harbor, right?_

And with that I jumped off the railing of the ship into the vast waters below, still facing Giovanni as I did so.

It all happened so fast. A gust of salty air pushing against my face and running through my wild hair, and an empty feeling in my stomach as my heart seemed to leap to my throat. Then as my feet hit the surface of the waves rocking through the ocean and a splash was heard, only then did I feel the immense coldness. Coldness that was everywhere, a wet coldness that tickled my stale lungs, daring them to take a gasp of breath. I had never swam in anything but a bathing suit before, and my uniform felt like heavy chains against my waist, slowly pulling me down to the watery darkness below. And not only had I only swam in a bathing suit, but I always had goggles with me. I couldn't remember the last time I opened my bare eyes underwater, let alone in a salty ocean. My only plan was to swim to the harbor, but my plan put me at a major disadvantage.

In my sudden panic of drowning right then and there, I no longer knew which way was up and down, therefore did not know how to get to the nearest source of air. _Open your eyes, Kira. All you have to do is open your eyes._ If I did open my eyes, surely I would be able to find the surface. So I opened them. The burning pain that surged throughout my eyes at that moment seemed to whisper to me to close my eyes back up, that it would stop all the pain. And I knew that if I did close them, yes, the pain would stop. But I had to get to the surface. I just had to search for the sunlight shining down on the ocean's surface. Then I could make the pain stop. Then I could swim to the surface. All I had to do was find light...

And I found it.

There it was. The surface. I positioned my body and then made a wild attempt to swim towards it, my arms and legs flailing madly. I could feel my strength draining from my body, my heart pumping even faster with a sudden feeling of panic as the air in my hungry lungs seemed to be swept away. A sudden possibility skipped through my mind that I had been trying to block out before. _I might actually drown._ I had to get the surface. I just had to.

With a huge gasp of air, my face finally met sunlight and air. I was alive and at the surface. _I was alive._ I wasn't sure what I was amazed at more - the fact that I could've drowned, or the fact that I was alive.

That's when the relieved thoughts of what just happened were pushed away from the thoughts of what happened on the ship. I turned myself around to look out into the distance at the ship. The only detail I could make out was the speck that was Giovanni standing near the railing, calmly gazing out at me. It was this calmness that sent chills down my spine. I knew it was possible for him to get mad - I saw this anger after I told him that I had thrown my locket out into the ocean. So if he was calm right now, something must be okay. Something.

He's going to come back for me. All of them are, sooner or later. They're just giving me a head start.

Sighing, I started sloppily swimming my way towards the harbor. After fifteen minutes of this, I took a final gasp of breath and pulled myself onto dry land. I then collapsed into a sudden fit of coughing as I clutched myself, bent over, eyes squinting from the stinging salt of the ocean. When the fit was finally over, I just laid there on my back, staring at the Wingulls crying out from the skies above. I was no longer a part of Team Rocket. I was free.

I heaved myself up into a sitting position and then suddenly remember what I had kept of the golden locket. The photo. Of course. I carefully slipped my hand into my soaking uniform pocket, only to feel one thing. Emptiness.

The photo had fallen out of my pocket and was somewhere underwater in the ocean.

I waited for the tears, but they didn't come. I felt no dampness slowly roll down my cheeks. But the emotion I felt in my chest was much stronger than tears, much stronger than the feeling of being free.

The unbearable emotion of a sadness of tears you can never cry.


	6. Part 5

_**Part Five**_

After the realization that the photo was somewhere at the bottom of the ocean sank in, I knew I must continue on. I was soaking wet, my uniform clinging to my waist and my hair now just a tangled damp mess, and my eyes were still stinging from the vast salty waters. Not only that, but I was still in my Team Rocket uniform, and wouldn't be able to go out in public without the police being phoned up. I slowly heaved my self up into a standing position, my legs trembling from the chills going down my spine, all the strength I had summoned so I wouldn't drown, or the confusion of what I would do next, I didn't know. All I know is that I managed to make them move, carrying me closer to some abandoned woods near the harbor.

After carefully stepping over bulky tree roots, dead logs, and a large amount of poison ivy, I sat down behind a bush sprouting ripe berries that glistened in the sunlight. Hugging my knees to my chest, I buried my head into them and shut my eyes tightly. Though I had told myself earlier that I had to continue on, it felt good to be able to rest for once. In fact, I couldn't exactly remember the last time I _could_ rest.

During the nights when I had no mission to accomplish, I would usually just lay there in that scratchy mess of a bed and gaze into the dark ceiling. Being jet-black, I could never tell how high it was during nighttime, and always pushed away the wonders tugging at my heart and replaced them with no thoughts at all, just the sight of the ceiling. At the time I had forbidden myself to wonder about why I was a part of Team Rocket, afraid that the truth would be a stinging horror. But now I've faced the truth. Now I've faced the betrayal.

Taking a deep shuddering breath, I slowly raised my head. That was enough resting for now. I had no idea when Giovanni would decide to turn the ship back. Soon, at least. The first thing I had to do was take care of my uniform.

I had sat there in the woods long enough to realize that no human has set foot in this place for weeks. After assuring myself I was alone and would stay alone, I flung off the shirt of my uniform and turned it inside-out so the blood-red R wasn't visible anymore, and then shoved the shirt back on. It felt scratchy and bizarre against my waist, though still soaking wet. At least the R wasn't showing anymore. As for my cap, it had long since been flung off my head once I had jumped into the vast ocean.

It didn't take long to find the city. The harbor was sitting just at the edge of it. As I trudged along the streets, I felt strangely out of place, dressed in all black. But not only did my uniform make me look out of place, but also... me. Just me. It seemed like every person that walked by had a friendly companion to be with, most often a family member. My heart sank as I thought about _my_ family. All my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents had died, and I had never had any aunts or uncles. Nobody in my family had more than one child.

I was the last one of my family that was alive.

Alone. I was alone.

A new emotion I had never felt before seemed to be burning a hole through my heart. A deep, vast, and dark emptiness that could never be filled up. An emptiness of being alone in the world. What was a suppssed to do? I had no family, no friends, and no money. I felt horribly, utterly lost. But what would someone do if they found out I was alone? Send me to an orphanage, probably. What fun. Yeah right. Though I did still have my Houndoom. But what use would it be to me now?

Sighing, I collapsed onto a small bench and gazed out into the cloudy skies, breathing in the brisk day air. Lost... I was lost... everything... was lost...

I hardly felt my eyes softly close as I drifted off into an unsteady sleep.

* * *

"Wake up, Kira." A voice spat.

I blinked open my eyes wearily, squinting up into the bright sunlight. The whole world in front of me seemed to be a blur of colors as the memories of jumping off the S.S. Aqua slowly trickled through my mind. _Kira._ The stranger knew my name. For one strange moment I almost thought it was my mother. But no. Of course not.

_'They'll turn back soon. They're just giving me a head start.'_

Team Rocket.

Clare.

You know how different someone you know looks like compared to what a stranger looks like? If you just think back to when you first met a person, they probably look different now that they're not a stranger. For a second there my blurry mind seemed to translate Clare as a stranger, and I just continued lying there, gazing out at the skies. But now that the realization had sank in that there was a Team Rocket member standing before me, my tense muscles seemed to spring into action. In one swift movement I jumped from lying position to standing positing, my face inches away from Clare's.

"Sit back down you idiot." Clare said through gritted teeth, pressing her flexed palms against my shoulders and shoving me back onto the sturdy bench. In my mad attempt to stand back up, Clare continued to tightly grasp my shoulders.

"Let go." I whispered darkly, glaring into her mud-brown eyes. "I'm not going to join Team Rocket again."

"This has nothing to do with Team Rocket." Clare whispered, equally as quiet, if not more. "It has to do with your locket."

I suddenly stopped struggling. Clare's grip loosened. My locket? I thought back to the angry emotion that had swelled up in Giovanni's eyes as he lunged for me aboard the S.S. Aqua after I told him that I had thrown my locket into the ocean. Then I thought back to what he had said about the island the S.S. Aqua was traveling toward. _"I didn't have you help because this whole plan is connected to what's inside your locket."_

"What does Giovanni want with my locket?" I asked softly.

"Now that's more like it." Clare muttered, smirking, as she carefully sat down next to me.

There was silence for a moment and we both just sat there, gazing out into the skies beyond.

Finally I sighed, shattering the silence. "If you lie to me I'll be able to tell, you know."

"You weren't able to tell before, though." Clare noted, continuing to smirk.

I wove my fingers through my now frizzy hair. "Why are you admitting that Giovanni lied to me when I first joined Team Rocket?" I asked, suspicious. "Surely you're not betraying him...?"

"Betraying Giovanni and all of Team Rocket? No." Clare answered, tilting her head up to look at the sky and closing her eyes. "But I'm betraying someone else."

Someone else? A family member? A friend? Was Clare possibly more like me than I thought? That emotion that I saw in her mud-brown eyes when I was five years old, and then the second time I saw it, on the ship...

"Well then, tell me why Giovanni is interested in my locket." I told Clare sharply.

Clare let a long breath out. "Did you ever find something _behind_ the photo in your locket?" She asked.

Behind. My stomach dropped. Never before had I ever looked behind the photo in my locket. When I had taken the photo of the locket on the ship, I took it out and shut the locket back up too quickly to notice anything.

"I never looked." I answered wearily.

"Well, there's supposed to be a jewel. A jewel with powers. It was found by your father long before he joined Team Rocket, when he was still a miner. But he knew little of how to control its powers. Thinking it useless, he gave it to your mother right before they divorced, when you were two. As a part of Team Rocket, he had spied on your mother many times after they divorced, and the last thing he heard from her about the jewel before he died when you were three was 'I'll keep it safe... somewhere.' Now, the reason why he was spying on your mother after they divorced was because he then learned that the jewel actually was of use. But then he died when you were three and all the rest of us had to continue the task of retrieving the jewel."

I just sat there, letting all of Clare's words sink in. A jewel with powers...

"The jewel... what type of powers does it have?" I asked.

Clare leaned in closer to my face and spoke in just barely a whisper. "Extraordinary powers."

I still wasn't satisfied with her answer, but accepted it. "So, why are you here?" I asked slowly.

"You threw your locket into the ocean, right?" Clare asked. I nodded in reply. "Well then, we better go get it. I'm on your side now."

"How?" I sighed.

Clare smirked. "What, you thought I came all this way unprepared?"

And at that moment Clare gestured to the bulky jet-black bag behind her, filled with scuba gear.

* * *

"Surely you'll be coming with me, right?" I asked, sighing, as I struggled to tilt my head to look up at the wandering Wingulls. Never before had I worn scuba gear before, and it felt rubbery and tight against my thin skin. I also felt heavy - it took a lot of effort to move around freely. Most of the weight was strapped on my back. Air tanks. Of course.

"Oh yes, of course I'm going to the bottom of the ocean with you, even though I don't have scuba gear for myself." Clare answered, rolling her eyes. "Note the sarcasm."

Of course Clare couldn't come with me. I bit my lip. I had never done anything like this before, and my heart seemed to be leaping up to my throat. Whether I couldn't focus because of the burning prickling feeling on my face, or something else, I didn't know. The only things I could focus on were the emotions sparking through my heart and mind at that moment. Suspicion and worry. According to Clare, she wasn't betraying Giovanni and all of Team Rocket. But wouldn't she be betraying them if she really was on my side? And the worry. What if I drowned? What if there's a leak in the air tanks? Could this all be a plot to murder me?

_...A loud whirring sound... a shrill scream piercing the air..._

Me, five years old. My mother. Murder.

Urging my body to use all the strength it had, I whirled around to face Clare. "How do I know I can trust you?" I asked softly, searching for an emotion in her mud-brown eyes.

Clare sighed and gazed out at the sea beyond for a moment. Then she answered.

"Because I'm your only chance right now."

Again, I wasn't satisfied with her answer, but accepted it. She was right. At the moment, I was alone in the world.

"In that case, I guess I'm ready." I said, my voice trembling.

"You guess?" Clare repeated, smirking.

"Yes." I replied softly. "Nowadays I'm never sure if I'm ready for these things."

Clare leaned in closer to whisper quietly in my ear. "Well, sometimes it's good to wonder about things."

I didn't say anything. Instead I just slowly raised my head to look up into her eyes, my face rising into a soft smile, and then I jumped into the vast, cold, ocean waters below.

What happened next was a moment that leaves me breathless when I think about it. It was like wearing tight rubber gloves on your hands and running them under cold water, except that the cold water was everywhere, and the rubber wasn't just on your hands. The feeling of being forced to the ground under the weight I carried on my back had evaporated into just a slight touch on my back, and it was as if I could no longer... well, _feel_. There was all of the vast aquamarine color that was engulfing me, but not dampness. Just the tight feeling of rubber against my skin. Though my movements were rather slow because it took quite an effort, I now felt more freedom than ever. But I knew I wasn't completely free, and still had something to accomplish.

My locket. I had to find my locket. The determination settling down in my heart was the only thing urging me to pump my legs, to swim closer the darkness below the wavy surface of the waters. The small beam of light emerging from the waterproof flashlight I held in my covered hand wasn't enough to totally eliminate all of the darkness. Yet I still searched on, the water pressure seeming to crush my ears, pain surging through my veins. My heart leapt to my throat as the light of my flashlight reflected off something small. Squinting as I swam closer, I could barely make out the cursive words engraved in its shiny gold surface that read _Together Forever_. Making an effort to grip it in my other hand, I couldn't help grinning. I had succeeded.

But as I tilted my head up to look at the shining surface and then tilted it back down, the beam of light engulfed something else that was slightly smaller. Something that took my breath away and sent wonders trickling down my mind. Before pumping my legs one last time to struggle to the surface of the vast salty waters, I took a hold of the object in the same hand that as holding the locket, and then began my swim up.

Not only had I just found my golden locket, but I had also found the photo.


	7. Part 6

_**Part Six**_

Gulping down the fresh brisk air that now surrounded me, I used my last remaining strength to heave myself up onto the boat where Clare was impatiently awaiting my arrival, gazing out into the afternoon sky that seemed to have been smeared with warm colors of the sunset. She hardly glanced at me as I hurriedly ripped off the scuba gear and then lay on my back, weaving my fingers through my damp hair while examining the locket and photo at the same time. Taking a deep breath, only then did Clare speak.

"I see you succeeded. Good job." Clare said simply, her mud-brown eyes scanning my appearance.

I had to wait for my quick unsteady breaths to pass, as well as my heart thudding in my chest to slow down. Only then could I reply. "Thanks." I breathed out. "I've never really gone diving before."

Clare was silent for a moment as her eyes suddenly pierced into mine. "Never mind that. What are you holding in your other hand?" She asked firmly.

Only then did I really notice that Clare hardly ever thought or cared about my emotions. Thinking about the people I loved, the memories of them carefully caring for me would never end up fading away. My mother and my grandparents, even my Eevee. If Clare didn't care about me and those whom I loved were gone, were my emotions of any importance in the world anymore?

I slowly tilted my head to gaze at the photo lying in my damp open hand. _Of course they are, Kira._ For a second there my heart seemed to skip, and I could almost hear my mother's voice.

"Just a photo. It was in my locket." I answered slowly, sighing. Clare was now the first person who wasn't my family that knew about the photo. Could it be that my mind was ignoring my heart, giving so much trust to someone who claimed they weren't betraying Giovanni and all of Team Rocket? For every quick beat my heart sent up through my veins, it seemed to say _"No, no, no."_ Yet I still sat there, freely talking about the photo, my mind not giving a single care.

"Let me see it." Clare ordered firmly. Not waiting for me to reply, she quickly swiped the photo from my outstretched hand and raised it up to her mud-brown eyes. I watched as her mouth grew into a soft smile.

"What?!" I snapped. It was the first time I had felt anger that day, and it was fresh boiling anger. I wasn't sure if it was a smile or a smirk etched on Clare's face.

"Nothing." Clare answered simply, carefully dropping the photo back into my hand. She turned around to turn the boat engine on. A deep rumbling sounded through the salty ocean air as the boat started smoothly gliding across the ocean surface, towards the harbor. Clare then raised her arms to the skies, stretching. "Well, maybe not. I guess it is something."

I just sat there, waiting for the sound of Clare's voice to break the silence. Waiting for her to explain the smile I had just watched appear on her face. "Something, huh?" I breathed out. "What type of something?"

Clare's eyes wandered to the wooden floor of the boat. "On the S.S. Aqua. You said I was there. You said I was there when it happened, when your mother died." She whispered softly.

Clare's soft words sent wonders trickling down my mind, into my heart. All I did was nod in agreement, waiting for her to continue on. But as my ears only caught the deadly silence continuing on, I remembered that Clare wasn't looking at me, and then I spoke. "Yes, that's right." I agreed. "Well...?"

"Well... you're right. I was there." Clare choked out.

That was it. Those few words that Clare spoke, just that one little confession. It was that confession that forced my heart to finally agree with my mind, to give put all trust into Clare. The deep thudding _"No"_ my heart had whispered had turned into _"Yes"_. An agreement. An agreement of trust. Clare was there when it happened, when my mother died, and she had admitted it.

"Why didn't you confess this on the S.S. Aqua, instead of now? Why did you lie to me?" I asked softly, trying to search for something in Clare's mud-brown eyes even though she still refused to look in my direction.

Only then did Clare slowly raise her head to gaze into my eyes. But before I could search hers, she seemed to have almost beaten me, instantly piercing into my soul. "Because." She started simply. "You do know your mother didn't just die, right? That she was actually murdered?"

_...A loud whirring sound... a shrill scream piercing the air..._

There it was again, those sounds my mind and heart remembered that sent shivers down my spine. And something else, too. Not another sound, but a feeling. A feeling of deep coldness hiding in the corners of my heart and mind, a coldness that whispered so softly that I could hardly ever hear it. And I knew what this coldness was. _Fear._ The coldness was fear.

Yes, I did know that my mother didn't simply die. She was murdered. And I knew it this whole time, ever since it all happened. But only then did I realize that one little word that fear had been softly whispering to me. _Murder._ My mother hadn't been able to promise she'd stay with me forever that night, as I was tucked into bed. I had been fearful that something would happen to her, and something did. And then I was fearful that the same thing would happen to me, but this fear slowly faded away as I matured.

"Yes... I knew she was murdered." I slowly answered. Finally, I was able to let my own confession out.

Clare leaned in closer, closer than she had ever been before. A serious look burned through her eyes, seeming to lock mine right in place. Looking in a different direction was no longer an option.

"But do you know _who_ murdered your mother?"

"No."

The truth. Then silence, both the silence of all sound surrounding us being shattered, and silence of me holding my breath, waiting to let it out.

"Kira, Team Rocket murdered you mother."

The other piece of the truth.

Of course. Black. They were all dressed in black that one night, dressed in their Team Rocket uniforms. And the blood-red R on their caps. I now remembered it all. Those fallen memories I had been reaching out for so blindly for the past ten years had finally been saved... by Clare. I was no longer blind, as if Clare had guided me the whole way.

_"You're just Team Rocket. You wouldn't dare do it."_

_"True, this usually isn't the way we take care of things. But for this moment, we have an exception."_

_"Well, there's supposed to be a jewel. A jewel with powers. It was found by your father long before he joined Team Rocket, when he was still a miner. But he knew little of how to control its powers. Thinking it useless, he gave it to your mother right before they divorced, when you were two."_

_"The jewel... what type of powers does it have?"_

_"Extraordinary powers."_

...Two pieces of truth...

_"What about the girl?"_

...And one key to a locket...

_"Just let her go. We'll need her for later."_

It all fit together. The puzzle of forgotten memories had been pieced.

"Kira?" The sound of Clare's soft voice startled me back to the world where the salty ocean air was still prickling my damp face.

I quickly turned to look in her direction. "Yes...?"

"We're here, now. We've reached the harbor."

I had sunk so low beneath my own new memories and wonders that I had failed to notice we had stopped moving completely. Indeed, we had reached the harbor. Even though I expected Clare to mention something more about how Team Rocket had murdered my mother, I remained silent. Maybe it was better for me to be alone with my thoughts for awhile.

* * *

As I glanced back up at the sun gleaming down on my sweaty face, I made sudden halt in walking with Clare. Forcing my mind to think of something other than the new memories and wonders I had discovered earlier, I let myself feel the salty air prickling my cheeks and my ears listen to the sharp cries of Wingulls in the bright distance. Along with these things was another feeling. A feeling of another memory coming back to me.

"This harbor... I've been here before." I told Clare softly. "When I was four. This is the place where we were in my photo." With this, I carefully slipped out the heart-shaped photo out of my pocket, raising it up to the sky to gaze at my mother and my Eevee, and the four-year-old me, too. Indeed, in the blurry background was the same salty ocean that tossed and turned behind us during that moment. I sighed. In the photo, we all looked so happy and care-free, not knowing the tragedies that would happen in just a year. Why did things have to change? Why can't the world stay the same when you most want it to?

"Kira, do you trust me?" Clare asked firmly.

Alerted by the sudden sound of her voice, I whirled around to face her. "A day ago I would've answered no. But... yes, I trust you." I answered slowly. My eyes wandered down to the gleaming pokeball now resting in Clare's outstretched hand.

"Then will you let me see the jewel right now?"

I hesitated before answering. "Well, even I haven't seen it yet. If you don't mind, I'd like to take a look at it myself, first." I told her carefully, softly touching the golden surface of my locket that was hanging around my neck.

Clare, leaning against the harbor's wooden walls, slowly started tossing the pokeball a few inches into the air and then catching it with the same hand. "Do recognize this moment from three years ago? Me, leaning against the wall, simply tossing a pokeball into the air and asking you questions? Hm, I believe at the time you were running away from something. And aren't you running away from Giovanni and the rest of Team Rocket now? How interesting." Clare seemed to slur all her words together as she stopped tossing the pokeball and then stood up straight, slowly walking towards me.

Though suspicious, I forced myself to remember the moment that Clare was talking about. After all, how could I not forget it? That was the day. The day when...

"Yes, I remember. That's when you asked me to join Team Rocket." I said softly, stepping backwards.

Clare nodding, still advancing on me. "Good job, Kira. You're getting better and better at remembering things each day." Clare then stopped walking, as a sudden deadly silence trickled through the air. "And on that one day three years ago, you accepted my offer. You joined Team Rocket. You fell for it... you were _tricked_. And personally, I thought you would've learned by now." She then slowly raised the pokeball up into the air surrounding us. "But I guess you didn't. Kira, you've fallen for it again... you've been tricked. _Again._"

It all happened so fast, but I still didn't need to look. My heart thudding in my chest, I whirled around. But even as I took my first rapid step, a blinding red light flashed behind me as I felt Clare's pokeball being tossed into the air. A loud whirring sound. Then a shrill scream piercing the air... my scream.

But no. I wouldn't let it happen again.

"Houndoom!" I managed to choke out, tossing the pokeball attached to my waist that I had almost forgotten about. The same blinding red light I had seen before came flashing out of the pokeball as a figure of a dog pokemon emerged. After I saw my Houndoom clearly, I quickly attached the pokeball back onto my waist and then crawled onto the pokemon's back. Clutching its pitch-black fur, I bent down to whisper in its ear. "I know you've never been in a situation like this before. Neither have I. But I need you to run... fast. I don't care where you run. Just do it." I ordered quickly, yet softly.

With one last obedient bark, my Houndoom took off, me still on its back. Trying to ignore the deep thudding stomps of the Rhyhorn running closer and closer, I couldn't help but to hear Clare's sudden amused voice out in the distance.

"They let me borrow the Rhyhorn specially for this moment! Quite a nice pokemon for the job, don't you think?" Clare shouted from not far behind.

I ignored her and continued staring straight ahead, wind weaving through my tangled hair. The world surrounding us was now just a blur of colors. That is, until I felt my Houndoom come to a halt in a dark alley.

Behind us, Clare and the Rhyhorn. In front of us, Giovanni and ten other Team Rocket members.

A low growl emerged from the Houndoom's throat. I slowly stood up on solid ground, standing so I could face both Giovanni and Clare. Overhead I could hear the choppers of a helicopter. But I didn't need to look up to know that it belonged to Team Rocket.

"Too bad you decided to betray us." Giovanni said slowly, smirking.

I simply glared into his cold eyes, and then turned all the way to face Clare. There it was again, that look I had only seen two times before. The look of a hidden emotion. And this would be the last time I ever saw that emotion.

"_Pity._" Clare mouthed. "Pity, Kira Markus."

Of course. Pity. The hidden emotion.

I ignored the silent tears now streaming from my face. "As much as I hate the existence of betrayal, I don't feel bad that I betrayed all of Team Rocket. But I _do_ feel bad that I betrayed my mother. See, this is the reason why I don't feel bad that I betrayed you... because you tricked me into thinking that my _mother_ betrayed _me_. But she didn't. I betrayed her, and so did my father, even though I never got to know him."

Giovanni simply nodded, continuing to smirk. "Well...?"

Taking a deep shuddering breath, I rose the golden chain that had my locket attached over my head, and then held it out in front of me. "Do you really think I can stand it anymore?" I said in just barely a whisper.

Giovanni's smirk rose into a wide grin of triumph. "No, I didn't." He answered, snatched the locket from my outstretched hand. He then signaled for the jet-black helicopter to lower the rope ladder down, and after that, for all the Team Rocket grunts except for Clare to climb up. "Well, Kira, we have no use for you now."

I nodded. "Good." I said through gritted teeth.

Giovanni gave me one last smirk before climbing up the ladder, Clare following closely behind, the rest of Team Rocket already in the helicopter. But halfway up, he halted.

Stretching his arm out, Giovanni shook the locket, hearing the sound of a small jingling of something inside. "Ah, that's good. I wouldn't want you to pull your own trick on me." He said in an amused voice, his smirk once again rising into a wide grin.

This time it was time for _me_ to smirk.

I held up the tiny figure of a golden key gleaming in the sunlight.

"Who said I didn't?" I shouted up to him.

And with that I threw it to the ground, shattering it. I smiled.

Giovanni and Clare just stood there, halfway on the ladder. A blank look was etched on Giovanni's face. He then started laughing, his laugh echoing into the distance. "Foolish girl, we can just do the same thing to your locket. Who said we need the key to open it?" And with that, Giovanni and Clare continued climbing up into the helicopter. I gazed out at them as Clare gave me one last look, carefully dropping something light so it would land at my feet, and then as the helicopter flew off into the distance.

I just stood there for a moment, weaving my hand through my tangled hair. Then I reached into my right pocket, taking out a tiny little pebble that was small enough to even fit in my locket.

Reaching into my left pocket, I took out a small sparkling pink jewel.

I then dropped the pebble to pick up the thing that Clare had dropped. It was a tiny photo, a photo of the harbor. But was I was gazing at was the shape of a small heart carefully cut out in the center.

On the back, scribbled in black ink, it read:

This was the best photo I ever took.  
And I was always good at cutting out  
hearts.

Taking a deep shuddering breath, I crushed the pink jewel in my hand.

Finally, I could breathe. Finally, my years of betrayal were over.


End file.
